Handle With Care
Release: Sept 15 2009
Book links to Book Depositroy and teaser from Goodreads.com
"Every expectant parent will tell you that they don't want a perfect baby, just a healthy one. Charlotte and Sean O'Keefe would have asked for a healthy baby, too, if they'd been given the choice. Instead, their lives are made up of sleepless nights, mounting bills, the pitying stares of "luckier" parents, and maybe worst of all, the what-ifs. What if their child had been born healthy? But it's all worth it because Willow is, well, funny as it seems, perfect. She's smart as a whip, on her way to being as pretty as her mother, kind, brave, and for a five-year-old an unexpectedly deep source of wisdom. Willow is Willow, in sickness and in health." Everything changes, though, after a series of events forces Charlotte and her husband to confront the most serious what-ifs of all. What if Charlotte should have known earlier of Willow's illness? What if things could have been different? What if their beloved Willow had never been born? To do Willow justice, Charlotte must ask herself these questions and one more. What constitutes a valuable life?"Jodi's websit: http://www.jodipicoult.com/
**My rating: 4/5**
*My Review*
Handle with Care is a heart-wrenching novel about illnesses and family relations. Picoult writes in such a way that I am not sure who is right and wrong, or what side I should be on. The lawsuit is trying and it almost breaks the family because they feel the same way.
This is written from multiple points of view, and for the most part she does well at distinguishing voices and making distinct characters and personalities, but I did get confused some when it switched so often. Also this book is written in letter form to Willow, so it uses "you" which felt off to me at some places.
This really made me think about how families react, how I view disabilities, and how I take things for granted. It shows how twisting the truth can really be a slippery slope.
And, although some called it predictable, the ending surprised me, and I can't decide if it is fitting or not.
I would love to hear what you think of my review and/or the book!
I'm probably the only book blogger who has never read Jodi Picoult, but it sounds like she tackles some tough family issues head on. Great review! I'm going to look into her books more now.
ReplyDeleteI loved 19 minutes, and my sister's keeper. I have tried a few others but couldn't get into them. I tried this one by recommendation.
ReplyDeletelove Jodi books. I have to check this one out! Great Review.
ReplyDeleteLoved this one...agree 100% w/you that it's hard to choose sides. I hated the ending---what a massive "dreams shattered" moment.
ReplyDeleteI hated this book, steam was coming out of my ears because I paid twenty dollars for it. I've read a lot of Jodi Picoult, and this was just a poor example of her work. It was a copy of My Sister's Keeper, and I felt like she just phoned it in. When writers have a contract to produce a book a year, sometimes it's just too much. Some of the medical terminology in the book was just plain wrong. Like the kid having a tib/fib fracture in her arm??? And the end was just cheap and sad.
ReplyDeleteI rented from library, so maybe that makes it a little better for me.
ReplyDeleteI caught the tib/fib too, btw.
I think that the ending actually is fitting for the story line because she died of causes other than her disease and she had always wanted to be skating.
Though I wished for a HEA, I understand why it was written way it was.
Thanks for your input though-- it is always amazing to me how differently stories affect people!
Until I had a child with disabilities, I never fully appreciated the patience, love, and strength it takes to get through. Sounds like a wonderful read!
ReplyDeleteJulie @ Knitting and Sundries